Vehicle body construction having concealed door hinges



Nov. 29, 1938. A. H. HABERSTUMP 2,138,523

VEHICLE BODY CONSTRUCTION HAVING CONCEALED DOOR HINGES Filed Aug. 30, 1935 INVENTOR. HZ fred l1. Hairs 2717777.

A TTORNEYs.

Patented Nov. 29,- 1938 PATENT oi-"FicE VEHICLE BODY CONSTRUCTION HAVING v CONCEALED DOOR HINGES Alfred B. Haberstump, Detroit, Micln, am o: to The Murray Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application August 30, 1935, Serial No. 38,592

7 Claims.

This invention relates to hinges. -More particularly it relates to that general class of hinges which is particularly adapted for mounting automobile doors.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a hinge and mounting for doors which will serve the purpose of supporting an automobile door and yet will be concealed within the door and door jamb in order that the hinge con- 10 struction will not be visible from either the interior or the exterior of the automobile.

Still further the invention contemplates the provision of a hinge construction in which one wing of the hinge is extended forwardly through the door post and secured to the adjacent paneling, as well as to the door post.

Yet another important feature of the invention consists in the provision of means for mounting the hinge pintle within the edge of the door i frame in such a manner that relatively little space will be occupied and the movement of the window normally slidably mounted in the door will not be impaired.

Still another object of the invention consists in the provision of a door hinge in which the wing portion thereof which is secured to the body of the car, is sufllclently offset from the pivot point of the hinge, so that the hinge wing may be secured to the base of the channel forming the pillar or door post of the car.

Still further the invention contemplates the provision of a panel adjacent the door opening provided with an arcuate surface with which'cooperates a piece of weather stripping carried by the door proper, in order that the crack normally occurring between the door and the door jamb on the side on which the door is hinged will at all times'be retained water-tight.

Yet another object ofthe invention consists 40 in means for mounting the hinge wing to the door post by means of several relatively widely spaced bolts in order that the mounting will be relatively stable and secure.

Yet another object of the invention consists in the provision of relatively accessible means for dismounting the door with respect to the body of the car.

Many other and further objects of the inven- 0 tion will be apparent from the following speciflcation when takendn connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of the front portion of an automobile showing a door mountof Fig. 1, showing the mounting means for the 10 lower hinge.

With more particular reference to the drawing the invention is shown in connection with a door I mounted upon a body pillar ,2 by means of the improved hinge construction. 15

The door I as is seen in the drawing, is composed of a pair of sheetmetal stampings 3'and 4 secured together to form. the door structure. The jamb face of this door memberis provided with apertures in the areas in which it is desired 20 to mount the hinges. Internally of the door structure adjacent these apertures are provided auxiliary brace channels 5 secured to both the inner and outer panels of the door and serving to brace the door throughout the area where the 25 hinge mounting aperture has been out. Thus a recess 6 is formed in the jamb face of the door in the area in which the hinges are to be mounted.

Mounted within this recess 6 is a pintle sup- 3" port bracket 1, which is preferably composed of a relatively heavy strip of sheet metal oflset so that it will extend a substantial distance into the recess and provide a mounting for a hinge pintle 8, the hinge pintle and mountings therefor 35 lying completely within the recess in the' jamb face of the door. The endsof this pintle support bracket are preferably secured to the jamb face of the door, and themetal thereof is preferably deformed sufliciently so that the exterior surface of this bracket will lie substantially in the normal plane of the jamb face.

The outer door panel 4 extends slightly beyond the jamb faceof the door, thereby forming a flange l I. Secured to the inner surface of this 46 flange II is a channel member I! which serves to hold with the channel member II a piece of rubber or resilient weather stripping It, the purpose and function of which will clearly be seen hereinafter.

Hinge wings l5 formed of relatively heavy gauge material have one end formed into a loop it which surrounds the pintle 8 and serves to provide a pivotal bearing for the hinge wing with respect to the door. as

presenting section securedto the inner face of v the cowl panel M; By reference to Figs. 2 and 4 it will be seen that thechannel. member ll forma ing the front pillar is of considerably less width adjacent the upperhinge than it is at the point where the lower hingeis secured. In order to provide a mounting for the hinge wing it of the upper hinge. apa'ir of slots 22 are cut through the side walls of the channel member closely adjacent the base thereof. Thus it may be seen that the e wing it of the upper hinge can project through the slot 22 and is secured by means of a pair of bolts 28 to the inner section of the cowling panel and to the pillar and is additionally secured at its forward end by means of a third bolt directly to the cowling panel in front of the-pillar.

It is noted that the channel member. is of sufllcient width at its lower end so that it is only necessary to provide a slot in one side thereof and that the hinge wing is secured through the base of the channel member 20 directly to the interior section of the cowling by means of three bolts 25.

It will be further noted that the hinge wing portions II are suillciently offset in substantially the plane of the jamb face of the door that they maylie parallel to and directly in contact with the interior surface of the inner cowl paneling member ll. The jamb face of the cowl'member I8 is formed arcuate of a radius adapted to cooperate with the weather stripping member it carried by the flange of the door in such -a manner that as the door is swung about the pivoted hinges the marginal edge of this weather stripping member will always be maintained in contact with the arcuate surface 26 of the cowl panel. This provides a weather-tight joint at the forward edge of the door at all times.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the hinge construction herein disclosed provides a completely concealed hinge and also provides a relatively tight joint between the forward edge of the door and the jamb to which it is secured.

It will be appreciated that many other and further modifications of the invention herein disclosed will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a door mounting, a door, a metallic door post of laterally presenting channel section,'a

hinge pintle carried in the jamb me or the m and a hinge wing journalled on said pintle 'azud extending through an aperture in the side of said channel section door post and secured to the base of said channel.

hinge pintle mounted within the jamb face of said door, a hinge wing journalled on said pintle passing through'the side walls of said channel and secured to the base thereof, and an intermediate portion of said hinge wing oifset to lie substantially in the jamb face of the door.

3. In a door mounting, a door, a door post of laterally presenting channel section, and-paneling secured to said door post, a hinge pintle carried by the door, and a hinge wing journalled on said pintle extending longitudinally through the walls of said channel and secured to the base thereof and to said paneling. v f

4. In a door. mounting, a door; a door post of laterally presenting channel section, and secured to said door post, a hinge pintle carried by the door, and ahinge wing journalled on said pintle extending longitudinally through the walls of said channel and secured to the base thereof and to said paneling, said hinge having an offset portion lying substantially in the jamb face of the door.

5. Means for mounting the front door of an automobile body on the adjacent door pillar and cowling comprising a hinge pintle carried within the jamb face of the door, and a hinge wing journalled on said pintle and having a portion extending longitudinally forward and secured to both saidpillar and cowling.

6. Means for mounting the front door of an automobile body on the adjacent door pillar and cowling comprising a hinge pintle carried within the jamb face of the door, and a hinge wing journailed on said pintle having a portion offset substantially in the jamb' face of said door and having a. portion extending longitudinalLv forward and secured to said door post internally of said cowling.

' '7. Means for mounting the front door of an automobile body on the adjacent door pillar and cowling comprising a hinge pintle carried within the jamb face of the door, and a hinge wing journalled on said pintle having a portion offset substantially in the jamb face of, said door and having a portion extending longitudinally forward and secured to both said door post and said cowling internally of said cowling.

ALFRED H. HAB. 

